House Democrats will target Anna Paulina Luna and recruit against 4 other Florida Republicans in 2026

U.S. House Democrats say they are on the hunt for a good candidate to challenge U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. But they also have their eyes on four other Republican-held seats in Florida if conditions are right.

House Majority PAC, the super PAC dedicated to expanding the Democratic caucus in the House, launched a recruiting effort Tuesday to find candidates in any potentially competitive seats in the midterms. With President-elect Donald Trump returning to the White House, the minority caucus sees opportunities to substantially expand its map.

A memo released by the super PAC puts Florida’s 13th Congressional District, where Luna just won re-election to a second term in November, on a list of targeted seats. But it also suggests the right candidates could unseat U.S. Reps. Carlos Giménez, Laurel Lee, Cory Mills and María Elvira Salazar.

“We must ensure Democratic campaigns are set up for success — and that comes through conducting qualitative and quantitative research to develop specific messaging and strategies for individual races,” the memo states.

House Democrats in the 2024 election cycle ultimately targeted just two Florida districts.

Luna, a St. Petersburg Republican, last year took nearly 55% in CD 13 over Democrat Whitney Fox’s nearly 45%. Fox was the only candidate included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue program and raised about $2.56 million to Luna’s $3.57 million.

Luna underperformed Trump in the district, with the presidential ticket winning more than 55% of vote in CD 13, according to MCI Maps.

The caucus also targeted Salazar in Florida’s 27th Congressional District. But Salazar, a Coral Gables Republican, took more than 60% of the vote while Democrat Lucia Báez-Geller failed to break 40%. The Congresswoman outperformed Trump, who won less than 57% of the vote in the district.

Democrats challenging Giménez, Lee and Mills all gained various levels of traction but never saw formal support from the DCCC. Recruiting efforts by House Majority PAC could signal greater national attention on those Republican incumbents ahead of the 2026 election.

Giménez, who like Salazar unseated a Democratic incumbent in 2020, won a third term with ease in November. The Miami-Dade Republican took almost 65% of the vote over Democrat Phil Ehr in Florida’s 28th Congressional District. Trump won just over 62% of the CD 28 vote.

Lee, a Thonotosassa Republican, won a second term representing Florida’s 15th Congressional District in November. She took greater than 56% of the vote over Democrat Pat Kemp. Trump won the vote in the district with less than 55%.

Meanwhile, Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, also secured re-election in Florida’s 7th Congressional District. He took almost 57% of the vote against Democrat Jennifer Adams. Trump took about 56% of the vote in the district.

In the Midterms nationwide, Republicans retained a majority in the House, but by an extremely narrow margin. Ultimately, Republicans won 220 House districts to Democrats’ 215. House Majority PAC identified 29 targeted districts, including Luna’s, where that five-seat deficit can be erased in the new election cycle.

“Winning elections starts with recruiting candidates who are representative of the districts in which they live, and ensuring they can speak with an authentic voice,” the memo states. “HMP has already been conducting significant outreach and researching potential candidates across the country, and will continue doing so in the coming months to ensure that the best possible candidates are identified and properly equipped to defeat Republican incumbents in 2026.”